🌏 Playing nice with Elon

Good morning, Quartz readers!

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Jeff Bezos doesn’t think Elon Musk will use his political power against business rivals. The Blue Origin founder called Musk’s SpaceX “very good competitors.”

A former car dealer and incoming senator slams EV tax credits as “catastrophically stupid.” Bernie Moreno of Ohio is angling to become the next president’s “car czar” and scrap the credits.

American Airlines just ditched Barclays for Citi. American and Citi forged a 10-year exclusive co-branded credit card partnership.

These eight niche streamers are outperforming major platforms. Hallmark+, BritBox, Crunchyroll, and other niche streamers are growing faster than bigger competitors.

Here are tips on how to buy a private island, according to someone who owns a few. Chris Korlow of HGTV’s “Island Hunters” offers his advice for purchasing your own slice of paradise.

Donald Trump takes credit for Bitcoin price

Bitcoin hit $100,000 this week, a record price for the cryptocurrency.

Donald Trump — who once called Bitcoin a “scam” — now thinks that investors should be thanking him for its rise. Cryptocurrency prices went up by a lot after he was elected U.S. president.

Why does Trump think he’s responsible for the new milestone? Quartz’s William Gavin explained the president-elect’s plans for token traders.

Jeff Bezos wants to improve Blue Origin

Jeff Bezos started his career revolutionizing shipping as the founder of Amazon. Now, he spends more of his time working on his space company Blue Origin.

Bezos grew Amazon into one of the biggest companies in the world and thinks he can do the same for Blue Origin — although he admits it’s “not a very good business yet.”

What future does Bezos see for Blue Origin? Quartz’s Rocio Fabbro examined his recent comments about it.

MORE FROM QUARTZ

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🐕 Elon Musk’s DOGE has some Democratic friends on Capitol Hill

📉 Trump Media stock didn’t rally after the election. Here’s why

🧠 The “smartest” version of ChatGPT yet comes with a price

✈️ Boeing’s 737 Max plea deal was struck down for having too much DEI

SURPRISING DISCOVERIES

A researcher believes mythic stories about Hernan Cortés might be plagiarized from Arabic. The tales resemble ones about Umayyad commander Tariq Ibn Ziyad.

There’s a cottage industry for building EV chargers in Vietnam. Small-scale entrepreneurs are trying to get in on the action.

Charms are a popular merchandise item in the beauty industry. Customers like to put them on their purses and bags.

Leaded gasoline may have led to increased levels of depression and anxiety. Scientists say exposure to the fuel raised the frequency of mental illness.

College graduation rates are going up in the U.S. It may have something to do with more people getting community college degrees.

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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news or comments to [email protected]. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Melvin Backman and Audrey McNamara.